New York Giants hope to avoid post-bye week letdown against Seahawks Sunday

APEli Manning and the Giants offense are looking to keep their momentum going on Sunday against the Seahawks.

By TOM CANAVAN

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants went into the bye week riding a four-game winning streak, and their goal coming out is not to lose that momentum.

If they forgot any part of that message in the past few days, all they had to do was watch the New York Jets play on Sunday.

Rex Ryan's team was hot going into their break and they came out flat on Sunday, dropping a 9-0 decision at home to the banged-up Green Bay Packers.

"That was something we had already talked about even before we left," defensive tackle Barry Cofield said Monday after the team returned to work, holding a short practice for Sunday's game at Seattle (4-3). "It wasn't just the Jets game. We all realized we had some momentum going and the bye week can help and hurt at times. So, it was something we focused on and turned our attention to when we got back."

Receiver Steve Smith watched some of the Jets game.

"That's something we can learn from," he said. "Who knows what happened with those guys? But I am sure they are going to pick it up the rest of the season."

The game after the bye week has been one of the worst in Giants' history. The franchise is 6-15 in post-bye games. Since taking over in 2004, coach Tom Coughlin is 3-3 in post-bye games, winning his last two, including a 34-31 overtime decision over Atlanta last year.

"Well, that's always the challenge, not just to come back where you were, but to come back and escalate the quality of your performance, lift your game to another level, which is the constant message," Coughlin said Monday.

Veteran linebacker Michael Boley said the bye week tends to make teams struggle for some unexplained reason.

"I don't know if it's because you've had too much time to relax or it takes you a little while to get back in the state of mind you had before your bye week," Boley said. "That's why I think a lot of teams focus on that. They are putting a lot more work getting you back to where you were before the bye week."

Technically, the Giants (5-2) didn't need to practice on Monday. Their usual week of preparation for a game starts on Wednesday. Mondays are usually the days that teams use to correct mistakes made in the last game.

"I'm not too worried about it," tight end Kevin Boss said of the bye. "That's why we came in here today. We had a crisp practice. We're ready to go."

Boley said if anybody isn't, there are enough veterans ready to remind them to pick it up.

"We will put that in guys' minds that we have to get back rolling," he said. "It's an uphill battle."

New York comes out of the bye with a one-game lead over Philadelphia (4-3) in the NFC East, and a two-game lead over Washington (4-4) in the loss column. Dallas (1-6) is fading fast.

"It's still a tough division any way you look at it," said Boley, noting that the rivalry between the division foes makes every game a battle. New York has five division games left.

One concern coming out of the bye is that starting center Shaun O'Hara did not practice on Monday because of a sprained right foot. He missed three games earlier this season with problems with his left ankle.

Coughlin characterized the mid-foot sprain as mild.

Most of the rest of the team was feeling good after a week off.

"I feel refreshed," defensive end Justin Tuck said. "I feel like the bye week did what it is supposed to do, get your legs back under you and ready for the long haul."